Anil Naidoo is the Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP) candidate for the Ottawa Centre riding in the upcoming provincial election.
After moving to Ottawa, Naidoo became involved with the NDP, working on Jack Layton’s first federal election campaign, he said.
Calling it a great honour, Naidoo said Layton is part of his inspiration to run for candidacy, in addition to the support of his friends and neighbours.
A first-time candidate, Naidoo won the NDP nomination in March earlier this year, beating out fellow party members Will Murray and Erica Braun to claim the position. As one of the main points in the NDP platform, Naidoo said he strongly supports access to post-secondary education for all people.
Education in general is one of those foundational values we need to ensure there is equity in, Naidoo said. We need to encourage more people to be involved in post-secondary education. It’s what gives everyone an equal opportunity to engage in our society.
The Ontario NDP unveiled their education platform Sept. 15, focusing on freezing post-secondary tuition fees and eliminating the interest on the provincial portion of student loans.
What’s been happening with the last six years of tuition fee hikes is that people are coming out with larger burdens, starting off their careers in a hole, and families are having to think about whether they can afford to have their children go on to post-secondary education, Naidoo said. It’s not only the burden we’re putting on young people starting out.
Really, we all suffer when our young people are not able to shed the debt and [engage] in the economy the way that we would like them to.
The Ontario NDP have also promised to remove the interest rates from the Ontario Student Assistance Plan (OSAP) and Naidoo said he believes post-secondary graduates will benefit as well.
We are happy to be proposing it.
In their education platform, the Liberals, led by Dalton McGuinty, have promised a 30 per cent tuition deduction for families making less than $160,000 per year.
The promises that have been made by the Liberals, in particular after the 30 per cent increase under their watch of undergraduate student fees . . . it’s too little, too late. They have been in power for the last eight years and they could have tackled this directly with the majority government, Naidoo said.
Ontario is putting the least into post-secondary education, Naidoo said. We think the Ontario [NDP] can do better.
With the rise in popularity of student vote mobs, a practice in which students congregate into large groups to vote and show their support for various political parties, Naidoo said he sees potential for more young people to get involved.
It’s of course the young people that got involved in the last [federal] election that allowed the NDP to make such wonderful gains in both Quebec and across the country. A large part of that gain was due to the engagement of young people, so we want that to continue.
Naidoo said he encourages Ontario’s youth to get involved in any way they can.
It’s your future, Naidoo said.I think voting is the least you can do, and the bigger thing is to use your social media influence, volunteer on campaigns, talk to your family and friends, and let them know what kind of future you want.
Naidoo is also a member of the Council of Canadians, focusing on policies for clean water and the environment. Born in South Africa, Naidoo said he fled apartheid and moved to rural Alberta with his family as a young child. He worked in the inner city of Edmonton, advocating on behalf of the poor for access to basic human rights services.
